smartpolitics

John McCain just endorsed a new Arizona referendum that intends to do away with Affirmative Action in Arizona.

So he’s technically “staying the course” since, as he says, “[he’s] always opposed quotas,” but in reality, the decision is a veiled reminder that Barack Obama is African American. He clearly is not even attempting to attract any African American voters, and is relying instead on cynical, racist whites who suddenly claim to be idealists when it comes to a black woman’s ability to get a job over a white man. This is bad news bears for McCain since “Dubya” actually won over black voters in larger numbers than most previous Republicans since Nixon, especially in the ‘04 election.

I agree that the concept of Affirmative Action inherently implies that minorities are “lesser” because they are given a handicap when it comes to jobs, but I vehemently disagree with the idea that someone who can’t get a job is a “lesser” person. It is up to the employer to decide who gets the job, and if the employer is racist, even a minority with the most qualifications won’t be able to get the job through no fault of his own. That’s where Affirmative Action comes in, and that’s where McCain failed by fighting against it but not against the War in Iraq.

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